Only on Fox News would a pundit liken a market-based, private health insurance program to Soviet Russia. And not get laughed off the set.

On yesterday’s  Bulls & Bears, one insurer’s claim that people have to break their “choice habit” when it comes to health care, was cause for a round of fear mongering about the evils of ObamaCare about to engulf all of us.

Panelist Gary B. Smith, however, took the cake:

The only way this monopoly - and that’s what it is - can exist is to tightly control supply, tightly control prices. Of course, even then, it’ll fail just like Communist Russia did, but that’s basically what we have. We have Communist Russia in the 50s, where we have this forced march to whatever the Obamacare gurus say the doctor you can go to.

Panelist Tracy Byrnes slowly nodded her head in agreement.

Guest Bernard Whitman had an excellent response:

Actually, Gary B. is entirely wrong this time. Buckle your seat belt because this is the free market at work. Why do I say this? This insurer that said that statement had almost no market share before the Minnesota exchange went online. They decided, “You know what? We’re going to give customers the option, we’re going to have few choices, a very low premium.” People flocked to it because they wanted that choice.

…The market is working exactly as it should, that’s why eight million people have signed up. News flash: eight million people - it’s working.